Technical students withdrew their blockade in Dhaka’s Tejgaon Satrasta intersection around 2pm on Wednesday, nearly three hours after it began, allowing traffic in the area to return to normal.
Around 11:30am, the students had blocked the busy intersection protesting what they called the “destruction of the technical education system” and the “monopolization of the engineering sector,” while pressing a six-point demand, reports Bangla Tribune.
On education reform, the students demanded a halt to age-limit-free admissions in the diploma in engineering course, the introduction of a standard four-year curriculum, and step-by-step academic activities in English.
Regarding recruitment, they sought the full cancellation of promotions and appointments of craft instructors annulled by the High Court, legal measures to prevent recruitment in lower positions excluding diploma engineers, a ban on appointing non-technical personnel in key technical posts, and fresh recruitment notices for skilled teachers and lab assistants to fill vacant positions.
They also called for institutional reforms, including the establishment of a separate Ministry of Technical and Higher Education and a Technical Education Reform Commission.
In addition, they demanded a modern technical university and admissions at the under-construction engineering colleges in Narail, Natore, Khagrachhari, and Thakurgaon through temporary campuses.